How to Get Started Beekeeping – Part 1: Where Do I Get My Bees?

by Julie Tennis on April 29, 2018

Getting started beekeeping requires you two things: acquire bees and have someplace for those bees to live. There are many ways of accomplishing both. Below I describe three methods I’ve used to acquire new bees. Next month I’ll describe the equipment I use to house and care for them.

How to Get Bees

You can buy bees, catch swarms, or lure swarms to your hives.

Purchasing bees is the quickest and most reliable way to get bees when you are starting out. You can order them from a supplier, from a retailer, or buy them from a fellow backyard beekeeper.

Suppliers are businesses that raise queens and bees to sell. The bees are sold in nucs or packages. A nuc is a five-frame hive. A package is a screened box of loose bees with a caged queen. I find a nuc preferable because the bees are already using the frames in the box, which can be transferred directly into your hive with little upset to the bees. The queen is already incorporated into the colony and has often already started laying eggs. This increases the chances of the bees staying in your hive. Packaged bees have to be shaken into your waiting bee hive and the queen is still new to the colony. She and the group are more likely to abscond (leave) if there is nothing in your hive to entice them to stay. Suppliers generally sell bees in the spring, and you may have to pre-order them as early as the previous autumn.

Retailers are places where you can buy your other beekeeping supplies as well as bees. They act as dealers for suppliers, taking pre-orders and handling sales and deliveries. Bees are generally only available in the spring and you may have to pre-order as early as the previous autumn. Be aware that commercially available bees, unless marketed otherwise, have likely been treated with chemicals to kill mites and stave off other parasites and disease. You will need to continue to treat these bees to keep them alive and well. “Treatment-free” will not work on these colonies.

Backyard beekeepers sometimes need to downsize, or may want to get out of beekeeping altogether. You can potentially acquire bees from them at any time of year, and generally when you buy bees from another beekeeper you are getting the entire hive, not just a nuc or a package. But be aware that used equipment can be a vector for disease and parasites. Vet the health of the apiary, or bee yard, from which you’ll be purchasing your bees. Are the colonies healthy? It can be helpful to bring along an experienced beekeeper to help you assess the health of the apiary (check with your local club).

However you acquire your bees, try to get them from a location with a similar climate as yours. That way the bees will already be adapted to the conditions of where they will be living, increasing their chances for survival. (This is particularly important for those of us living on the wet “Outer Coast” of Washington, for example.)

Catching swarms is another method for acquiring bees. You can get on your area’s “swarm list” through your local beekeeping club and/or state beekeeping organization. You can also let your local emergency management know you are available to remove swarms. Swarms generally consist of an older queen and several hundred worker bees. They may have mites so treat accordingly when you house them. It can be difficult to keep a swarm if you only have brand-new equipment. If possible, include a frame of honey in the box to entice them to stay. You may be able to acquire one from a local beekeeper, but freeze it for a full 24 hours before you use it to kill any parasites that may be left over from the previous colony. (Note that not all diseases are killed by cold.)

Luring bees to your new beehive can be very difficult. If you have some old beekeeping equipment, roving scout bees are more likely to find it and convince their sisters to choose that site as their new home. If all you have is fresh new equipment, you might try adding a few drops of lemongrass essential oil (EO) in the box and on a frame or two (be stingy – a little goes a long way). Bees are quite attracted to the aroma. I have successfully lured swarms into hives using lemongrass EO. Be aware, however, that the scent will attract them no matter where it is located. I made the mistake of putting the jar of EO in the pocket of my bee suit after applying it. When I was at another apiary the next day, the bees there were very interested in my pocket, even though I’d removed the jar. Some of the EO had transferred to the fabric and I had bees crawling in my pocket to find it. (Washing my bee suit removed the aroma.)

Getting started with beekeeping can be an expensive endeavor, with buying bees and purchasing equipment. But if you’re willing to make the effort to capture your own, you can save yourself $100 or more.

Have you already started keeping bees? Tell us how you got your first colony in the comments below:

Keeping Records of Your Beekeeping

by Julie Tennis on February 5, 2018

I filled up my first beekeeping journal in December, which got me thinking about record-keeping and how I might improve my system. I’ve been through a few iterations of record keeping systems, but the one I’ve been using the past five years is a mix of short notes and narrative. I record the date, location and hive number, then include notes that pertain to whatever it is I’m checking for that day. Here’s an example of a mid-winter inspection where I was checking colony vitality and stores:

1/23/17: Deep River
1: 46# good cluster, lots of honey, wet lid and shavings (I was testing quilt boxes last winter)
2: 48# lots of honey, tiny cluster, wet lid and shavings
~ both hives have activity on porch

The drawback to this system is that I sometimes forget to record information that could be useful or necessary later. Like many of you, I have a job and a life outside of beekeeping, a life that is sometimes distracting, or which causes me to feel so busy that my hive inspections become a rush job. So I decided to create a checklist that I could use in conjunction with notes to help guide my regular inspections. I haven’t field-tested this form yet – I’m waiting for a day without rain. And I already know that some of the items won’t be applicable at certain times of the year, but I think this could be a useful tool anyway, and I wanted to share it with you.

Here is the Apiary Inspection Checklist I’ll be testing this year. This form was inspired by an Inspection Checklist created by ABC Bees years ago. If you use this form, I’d love to get your feedback! You can share your comments below.

The first things you should record when working with your bees are the date, time, location and weather conditions, i.e., the “metadata.” Metadata are the “data about the data.” They set the context for the rest of the information that you gather, reminding you of the conditions at the time of your observations. When I first started keeping records I thought I would remember everything from one visit to the next. I wasn’t even thinking about how I might use the information ten years down the road. Knowing the time of year, the location of the colonies, and the weather when you were making your observations can tell you so much about the bees – if you keep track of that information over time!

External Inspection (Items you can check without opening the hive.)

Hive Number:     Each column represents a different colony in your apiary.

# of Brood Boxes:      How many boxes are on the colony that are just for them to use?

# of Honey Boxes:      How many boxes are on the colony for the bees to store honey that you will harvest?

Screened Bottom:     Yes or no.

Propped Cover:     I raise or lower one end of the telescoping cover to help with air flow and moisture reduction in the colony. With hives in several locations, it’s helpful to know whether the lids are propped when I’m dealing with hot spells or yellowjackets.

Entrance Reducer:      I generally use this in the winter to help reduce air flow through the hive. Like with the propped cover, it’s nice to be able to glance at my notes rather than have to visit every apiary to find out if I’ve remembered to place or remove entrance reducers.

Weight:     I use a hanging scale to lift the back end of the hive for a weight. This is about half the total weight of the colony. I like to keep track of the weight as a less obtrusive way to monitor honey stores in the winter.

Dead Bees on Porch:     Dead bees on the porch is a normal occurrence, but can give you insight into what’s happening in the hive. Are there pupae on the porch? Is there a trail of wax debris? Are there high numbers of dead bees or just a few? While the space here is for a number, you can use the back side of the data sheet to record notes about specific items on the front. A trail of wax debris generally means the hive is being robbed. Dead pupae could mean brood disease. You can learn a lot about what is going on inside the colony by looking at activity on the outside.

Traffic Volume:     Here is a piece of data that can correspond to the weather data you gathered at the top of the page. Or it might not. But you would expect lots of activity on a warm day, and if the traffic volume is low when the air temperature is high, the bees inside may be having trouble of some kind.

Orientation Flights:      When a cohort of young bees reach foraging age, they will gather, as a group, in front of the hive to orient themselves in space. The flight of orienting bees is relaxed and flowing as they bob up and down outside the hive, mapping the location of their home in their minds. Eventually the bees widen their flight to etch more of the landscape into their mental map. When a large cohort is orienting, it can appear that the colony is swarming. The difference between an orientation flight and swarming is that the orienting bees will remain in front of the hive for several minutes before dispersing. A swarm will form a large cloud after the bees leave the hive.

Bringing in Pollen:      Bringing in pollen is generally an indication that all is well in the hive. This is not always that case – I have seen colonies bringing in and storing pollen even when queenless and having no brood. If you see a colony that is not bringing in pollen when the others are, this is a good indication you should take a look inside to see how the girls are doing.

Aggressive:      Aggressiveness can indicate any number of issues, from a queenless colony to beekeeper incompetence. I look at the totality of the circumstances to decide how to proceed with this information. In general, I note aggressiveness (bees flying right at your face as soon as you open the lid, banana-candy smell, dozens of bees stinging your gloves as soon as you open the inner cover, etc). If the colony is consistently aggressive over two or more visits, I will check the laying pattern and/or search for the queen. If there doesn’t seem to be anything amiss inside the colony, and she’s queenright, I will move the colony to someplace where their aggression won’t interfere with human activities.

Type of Supplement:      Mark here if you’re feeding the bees, and record on the back of the form what you are feeding them. Or you can come up wth your own shorthand for supplements you typically provide, such as P for pollen, SW for sugar water, or F for fondant. Be sure you record a key for your abbreviations so that you can be reminded of them later. You will forget!

# Frames of Adult Bees:     Looking down on the top of your hive, how many of the frames does the cluster encompass?

Drones:     Presence/absence.

Signs of Dysentery?      Are there streaks of bee poop on the outside of the hive?

Internal Inspection

Hive Scent Normal?      Do you notice any “off” or unusual odor? If you can describe it, do so on the back.

Queen Color (if seen):     If you mark your queen, you may want to replace this line item with “Queen Mark.” I don’t paint my bees, so I just keep an informal log of the color of the queen for future comparison.

# Frames Open Brood:     How many frames have open brood in them?

# Frames Capped Brood:     How many frames have capped brood in them? (May overlap with above.)

Total # Frames of Brood:     What are the total number of frames in the colony that contain brood?

% Drone Brood:     What percentage of the total amount of brood is drone brood?

Signs of Brood Disease?     See this pamphlet to learn more about recognizing brood disease.

# Frames Nectar:      How many frames contain mostly open nectar?

# Frames Capped Honey:      How many frames contain mostly capped honey?

# Frames of Pollen:      How many frames contain mostly pollen?

# Empty Frames:     How many frames are empty?

# Queen Cells:     How many queen cells did you find?

# Dead Bees on Bottom:     How many dead bees are on the bottom board? (Feel free to estimate.)

Deformed Wings?      Did you notice any deformed wings while you were in the hive?

Mites?     Did you see any mites while you were in the hive?

Strength of Hive:     What is the general condition of the colony? Strong, Average, or Weak?

That’s a quick overview of the line items of the Apiary Inspection Form I’ll be testing this year. I’d love to hear if you try this form, and how it works for you. Let me know in the comments below.

How to Clean Raw Beeswax

by Julie Tennis on December 16, 2017

I was several years into beekeeping before I learned how to process wax. I had tried it once, early on, and ended up with such a mess in the metal bowl I was using that I just hid the bowl away rather than figure out how to fix it. Now I know that having clean wax to make candles and other products is all about having the right tools.

You will need the following equipment:
• a crockpot
• a slotted spoon
• a heat gun
• a makeshift double-boiler
• a small, fine-mesh metal sieve
• Charmin’s toilet paper
• a second tin can
• an ice cube tray or silicon wax mold

Ideally, you’ll want to have a set of these tools just for processing wax. It is time-consuming to clean wax from these items (except for the heat gun and the bottom pot of your “double-boiler”), and slumgum is very difficult to remove from the crockpot and the top pot of your double-boiler.

(Slumgum is the crud that separates out of the wax. It’s a mix of honey and other impurities cooking into a sticky, frothy brown goo.)

There are three steps to processing wax:
• First Melt – where you remove the large debris, such as cocoons
• Second Melt – where you filter out the small debris
• Third Melt – where you pour the filtered wax into molds

Step One

The first melt occurs in the crockpot. Add three inches of water in the bottom of the pot. Add the raw wax. Turn on the heat. It only takes 15-30 minutes for all the wax to melt, depending on how much you added.

When the wax has melted, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the floating debris – slumgum and old cocoons. These things are difficult to see against the black backdrop of the crockpot, so be patient and take your time. The more crud you get out now the less you have to deal with later. Dump the slumgum into a paper bag (it makes great fire starter). When the slotted spoon becomes too encased, peel off the wax and put it in the pot to remelt, or use the heat gun to melt it back into the pot.

Let the wax cool. The layer of water, in addition to absorbing some of the impurities, will keep the wax suspended from the bottom of the crockpot while it cools. The wax will contract as it cools, usually pulling free from the crockpot walls.

You’ll now have a nice oval of wax which is convenient for storing. There will likely be a small chunks of slumgum and cocoons embedded in the wax, but you can remove those during step two. If you’re going to store your wax, rinse thoroughly under lukewarm water to dislodge any residual honey and loose debris.

Step Two

The second melt occurs in your double-boiler. I use a makeshift double-boiler so I don’t have to worry about ruining a pot. You can use a tin can, just be sure you’ve rigged it up so that it can’t tip over in your pot.

Place two to three inches of water in your bottom pot. Put your tin can in the water and put your wax from Step One into the can. Place the burner on high. Once the water starts to boil, turn the temperature down to medium. The water will remain hot enough to melt the wax without throwing boiling water into the can. Do not leave your wax unattended.

Once the wax is liquefied, line a fine mesh metal sieve with Charmin’s toilet paper and place the sieve over your second can. (My sister tested numerous materials as filters for cleaning wax and found Charmin to be the superior choice.) Place the can on a pot holder or some other insulating device to protect your countertop. Slowly and carefully pour the liquid wax through the filter into the second can. The wax will solidify as you work, clogging up your filter. The heat of the liquid wax that you’re pouring through will help to clear a path, but you can also use the heat gun on its lowest setting to get things flowing again. Be careful not to blow wet wax all over your work space.

Eventually the toilet paper will become clogged with slumgum. Twist up the dry corners of the toilet paper and press down to squeeze the remaining wax out of the slumgum, then toss the used toilet paper into a bag for later use as fire starter. You will likely go through several squares of Charmin before you’re finished filtering the wax.

Step Three

The third melt also occurs in your double-boiler. By the time you’ve finished filtering the wax, the first pours will have started to solidify. Place the can into the hot water of the double-boiler pot to re-melt. When it is sufficiently liquified, pour the clean wax into the squares of an ice cube tray or into your wax or candle mold.

And that’s it – you’ve processed your wax! It’s a time-consuming process but it provides you with another product from the hive that you can use to make candles, lip balm, salve, and numerous other wax-based items.

I’d love to hear what you’re making with wax from your bees – please share resources in the comments below.

So You Want to Be a Beekeeper?

October 29, 2017

When you’re a beekeeper, your friends will ask you to remove bees from all sorts of difficult-to-reach places. You start early in hopes of getting the honeybee colony removed from the awning before the heat of the day settles in around you like a wet fur coat. But there’s no ladder at the site, and […]

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Honey Primer – Part 2: Out of the Hive, Into the Jar

September 15, 2017

This is the second half of a two-part article about honey. Click here to read how honey is made. Honey is highly-refined flower nectar. Different flowers yield different amounts of nectar – some are generous, some have none at all. On average though, we can say that each flower generally produces less than half a […]

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Honey Primer – Part 1: How Honey is Made

August 29, 2017

Honey is a precious resource, produced by the labor of hundreds of thousands of worker bees. It starts out as nectar, produced by flowers. Honey bees collect this nectar in a special compartment in their digestive tract called the “honey stomach.” While in the honey stomach, the nectar is subject to digestive enzymes which begin […]

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